World Health Organization Claims Mosquitoes are the World’s Deadliest Animal

Southern California insect expert are anticipating a large, region-wide, mosquito infestation because of this year’s heavy rains. The World Health Organization calls mosquitoes the world’s deadliest animal because of the diseases that they carry.

According to the Orange County Register,

Since 2014, these creatures have passed along the potentially deadly West Nile virus to 1,311 people in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

The larvae from the mosquitoes grow up standing water and the heavy rains left plenty of standing water for mosquitoes to thrive. Dottie Merki, Public Information Officer with the Riverside Department of Health, stated:

The Aedes mosquito prefers to breed in very small amounts of water in or around homes. We educate (residents) to look for anywhere water is pooling such as upturned bottle caps, toys, tarps etc.

Aedes aegypti, which is an invasive mosquito in Southern California, carries the zika virus and yellow fever. In Orange County, West Nile cases dropped from 280 cases in 2014 to 36 cases last year. Unfortunately though, the heavy rains have also washed away the gambusia fish, which is the key natural predator of the mosquitoes.

It is important to prevent mosquitoes from growing near your home by getting rid of any standing water near your home.